First cut of the year for award winning pitch

Rotherham United’s award winning playing surface is getting greener by the day as Sky Bet Championship Groundsman of the Year Dave Fellowes and his team continue to prepare for the 2015/16 season.

The Millers’ pitch was cut for the first time this week and Fellowes is delighted with its progress as it begins to take shape for another season of second tier football.

“The pitch is really coming on now and we gave it it’s first cut on Tuesday,” he explained.

“We gave it a feed as well so we are expecting to see it start filling in a lot more now. We’ll give it another cut tomorrow and we’ve got a bit of rain forecast for the weekend which will help.”

Dave and his team, who were crowned as the winners of the Sky Bet Championship’s best pitch last season, believe that hard work during the close season is key in yielding the best results throughout the season.

“I always believe that all the hard work you put in through the summer is what you get out of it in the winter.

“The soil temperatures are quite low at the moment so we’re using lots of fertilizers and tonics to try and force it on a bit. After it’s established it’s just about working on the roots and we’ll switch from working on grass cover to stability to get us through the season.”

The mixed weather may not be perfect for those wanting to enjoy some summer sun in Rotherham, but Dave insists the pitch is already benefitting from the mid-year rainfall.

“Showers are always good for us. I always think that rain is better than a bucket full of irrigation water and there’s something about the rain that helps the pitch really kick on."